The transatlantic security relationship has been at the heart of cooperation since the onset of the Cold War and has been the foundation on which the stability of Europe has been built. But the post-Cold War period has raised major challenges for transatlantic relations as well as new security threats, such as terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking. These are fresh concerns in the sense that they have not been previously regarded as matters for US-European cooperation. Recent events such as the 1999 war in Kosovo, the European Union's decision to create a Rapid Reaction Force and the US policy of proceeding with a ballistic missile defence capability have all contributed to tensions in transatlantic relations. The transatlantic relationship has entered a new and highly uncertain period. This book looks at the three main facets of the transatlantic security relationship: the defense of Europe, global challenges, and new security threats.

A March 8, 2006 conference, on "The Future of the Transatlantic Relations," addressed changes in US and European defense and foreign policy in the aftermath of the War in Iraq and in light of a new consensus for coordinating US and European military strategy, planning and operational activities. Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service, Bush Presidential Library Foundation, and European Union Center of Excellence, partnering with the Department of the Army's Eisenhower National Security Series and the Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute, convened a conference of distinguished international experts from academic, military, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to examine key dimensions of this dynamic relationship, which has major implications for global as well as regional security.

The post-September 11th security policies of Poland, the UK, France, the US and Germany presented in this new book illustrate how and why the Atlantic community ruptured over Iraq, a result in part, it is argued, of the existence of particular national strategic cultures. Whilst the longer term effects of Iraq for the transatlantic security agenda have yet to fully transpire, what is certain is that the EU's ambitions to become a credible security actor have been seriously questioned, as has the notion of multilateralism as an international norm, as has the function of international law. The book addresses these issues by considering the evolution of the EU's role in the world and the development of American perspectives on the transatlantic security agenda. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal European Security.

This new book shows how the idea of a strategic triangle can illuminate the security relationships among the United States, the European Union and Russia in the greater transatlantic sphere. This concept highlights how the relationships among these three actors may, on some issues, be closely related. A central question also follows directly from the use of the notion of the triangle: does the EU have actor capability in this policy sphere or will it get it in the future? The reason this is so important for our project is that only if the Union is regarded by the two other actors, and regards itself, as an actor in security policy does the strategic triangle really exists. Consequently, this book has a strong focus upon the development of the actor capability of the Union. In the case of the United States, it examines to what extent the concept of the strategic triangle has significance under each of five grand strategies that serve as alternative visions of the superpower’s role in the world.

Since the end of the Cold War, and especially following the US decision to invade Iraq, the once strong partnership between the US, Canada, and the European allies has faced the serious possibility of significant change, or even dissolution. At the very least, fundamental differences have emerged in the ways that many of the partners, perceive the issues that are most important to them—from perceptions of the threat of terrorism and attitudes to the use of force, to expectation about the future nature of the NATO Alliance—and in the ways in which those perceptions have become translated into policy decisions. In this book, experts from both sides of the Atlantic seek to explain why there has been so much divergence in the approach the various countries have taken. And it seeks to raise questions about what those divergent paths might mean for the future of transatlantic relations.

Transatlantic security cooperation has developed into a hybrid object. This necessitates a look beyond the two institutional cornerstones of cooperation, NATO and the bilateral EU-US relationship. The book addresses the historical and current conceptions of transatlantic security relations and analyzes new 'platforms' for cooperation such as the EU-3 initiative in regard to Iran, various forms of EU-NATO cooperation as well as the Middle East Quartet. The contributors examine the member states' perspective on the relationship and discuss some new areas for action including a CFSP caucus in NATO, a reversed Berlin-plus agreement, a «Joint Transatlantic Nation-Building Task Force», and common criteria for stability operations on both sides of the Atlantic. The message throughout the book: there is no 'master plan' for strengthening transatlantic relations, but strong reasons to move forward with a sense of pragmatism.